The tricky descent into Kilutea Canyon on the Borden Peninsula. Photo: Philippe Gauthier From May 3 to 29, 2023, our team of four (Philippe Gauthier and son Simon Gauthier, and Charles Gauvin and son Marc Gauvin) made the first west-to-east s...
From July 9 to August 15, our team of three ventured to Ladakh. After a three-day journey, we reached the small village of Tungri in the Zanskar Valley, where we were warmly welcomed. With the help of local porters, we ascended to a base camp at 4...
After the great fire of 64 A.D., the Emperor Nero built a vast complex on the Oppian Hill in Rome. The Domus Aurea (Golden House) was based on the architecture of an Egyptian temple and magnificently decorated with birds, animals, and flowers. Ind...
Tess Smith on the south ridge of Starikatchan during the 2022 attempt, when the climbers got within about 100 meters of the summit. Photo: Alan Goldbetter. The last bit of light in the sky faded quickly as we arrived on the summit of Starika...
A view toward Western Kishtwar. Photo: Chris Wright In September and October, Michael Hutchins and I attempted to climb the 1,400m north face of Chiling II (6,253m, 33°49’3.62”N, 76°9’48.26”E). We turned back about 450m up the wall, finding t...
Seen from the north, Thongmeth Kangri on the Spiti-Rupshu divide. Photo: Rajesh Gadgil In a highly exploratory expedition to the Spiti-Rupshu divide, southwest of the well-known Tso Moriri (lake), a small group of Indian mountaineers made the...
Moving up the side valley east of Ama Chomo Nyug Ri, with the 2024 route of ascent (the east ridge) forming the left skyline. Photo: Ashish Chanda In August 2023, Indian mountaineer Anindya “Raja” Mukherjee discovered the climbing potential o...
In August 2023, while reviewing maps in Leh, I noticed the Khyam Lungpa (valley), which is northwest of the Tanglang La (5,328m), a pass crossed by the Manali-Leh Highway. What caught my eye was the proximity of several unclimbed 6,000m peaks with...
The summit station on Castleton’s North Face rappel route features unusual four-inch-diameter rings that dangle over an abrupt edge. Here, the stranded climbing team’s large knot used to join the rappel ropes, along with a tangle of long tails, ...
In June, my party of four arrived at the Pipeline in Maple Canyon to find a party of two—a 20-year-old male and a 25-year-old male—already climbing. One of the boys reported that he had just flashed a 5.12c/d. Their combination of strength and ine...
A climber following the third pitch of Outside Corner (5.7) on JHCOB Wall. The area above him was where Ephraim Cook suffered a fatal leader fall in May 2023. Photo: Chris Farmer On May 24, Ephraim Cook (25) fell off the last pitch of Outside...
On May 12 at 7 p.m., Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue was called out for two injured rock climbers in Big Cottonwood Canyon. A party of two was climbing Goodro’s Wall (5.10c) at Storm Mountain Island when a large rock near the start of...
Sean McLane on Raven Falls (WI4) during an earlier ascent. This two-pitch climb was the scene of a fatal accident in April 2023. Photo: McLane Collection On April 2, Meg O’Neill (40), a member of a party of three climbers, was killed when str...
On July 4, Person 1 (23) was climbing with two novices in the area behind Sylvan Lake on a wall with accessible top-rope anchors. While setting up the top-rope, Person 1 tethered themselves into a “protective bolt,” separate from the two-bolt anch...
On April 21, Cohen Schaumann (11) fell 40 feet to the ground while climbing at Smith Rock with his grandfather, Scott Phillips. The pair had climbed together on multiple occasions over the prior year. Their sessions included top-roping and a succe...
The crux section of Lion’s Chair Start (5.10c/d R) at Smith Rock. The higher red circle marks the bolt that Genereux was attempting to clip, prior to falling to the ground. The smaller red circle marks the location of the number 0.4 cam that pul...
The Mountain Rescue Unit team lowers Jean Bury down the first pitch of The Cave Route (3 pitches, 5.7 R). During the descent from the summit of Brogan Spire, Bury suffered a severe pendulum fall on the first rappel. Photo: Deschutes County Searc...
Looking south-southeast at (R) Rale. The route of ascent climbed over Peak 6,128m, off picture to the right, then followed the watershed ridge to the summit. Photo: Rajesh Gadgil In September, Mayukh Banik, Sujit Kushe, and I, supported by Do...
In preparation for a higher trek in the Pologongka Group, Claudia Bäumler, 15-year-old Nina Bielefeldt, Nuhbu Gojing, and I made a three-day trek from Kanji via the Yogma La and Shinguche La to the Spang Nala (valley). Ascents by others in the reg...
Nikolaos Kroupis on the upper south-southeast spur of Nya Kangri. The left-hand and snowiest of the two big peaks in the right background is Argan Kangri. Photo: Orestis Mitrou-Kintis. In July, I made my fourth expedition to unclimbed Nya Kan...